Every decade has movies where it feels like the entire point of the film goes over audiences’ heads, and the 1980s were no different. As a complex era categorized by societies fractured by Reaganomic policies, Cold War anxieties, and widespread recession, movies often subtly reflected societies’ woes in a way not every viewer picked up on. In certain cases, these misunderstandings led to great films completely bombing at the box office, and it’s only in hindsight that their meaning and purpose seem obvious.
The most controversial movies ever made usually become notorious because of some major misunderstandings, as truly insightful films challenge audience expectations and social norms. This has been especially the case in past decades, as prior to widespread online discourse, it was more difficult for film lovers to gain behind-the-scenes information or deep analysis of a particular movie. While some viewers did not initially understand the message of these great films, the fact they are still being written about today shows their enduring legacy.
10 Wall Street (1987)
Audiences overlooked Wall Street’s capitalist critique
Michael Douglas won the Oscar for Best Actor, playing the ambitious and ruthless stockbroker Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. As a daming indictment of capitalism and the money-hungry landscape of 1980s Reaganomics, Gekko’s ethos that “greed, for lack of a better word, is good” was never meant to be taken seriously. Instead, director Oliver Stone invited viewers to look past the financial gains of stocks and bonds and see the soullessness and shallow materialism behind it all.
However, the anti-capitalism message of Wall Street went over many viewers’ heads as, although it made the world of finance look desirable, it was actually a damning critique of the cynical culture of the 1980s. While some audiences may have seen Gekko as a charismatic success, the truth was he was the villain, and the film served to highlight the dubious morality of characters like him. Although Wall Street may have appeared aspirational, it was anything but.
9 First Blood (1982)
Audiences failed to see the message about in the treatment of veterans in First Blood
Sylvester Stallone brought to life a cinematic iconic as enduring as his breakout role of Rocky Balboa when he first played John Rambo in First Blood. As a PTSD-suffering Vietnam War veteran, First Blood showcased a man in emotional crisis relying on his combat skills to survive a vicious manhunt in the forest near the small town of Hope, Washington. While First Blood became a major blockbuster success and the start of a new action movie franchise, viewers missed the emotional and psychological themes underpinning its story.
First Blood was far more than a simple action film, as it represented the mistreatment of war veterans and how the adverse, deeply traumatizing effects of conflict left their mark on countless soldiers. While Rambo’s intense Vietnam flashbacks and reckless guerilla warfare tactics were an extreme example, they showcased how, for those who were in the heart of battle, it’s difficult to leave warfare behind. First Blood was a complex and layered story of real emotional resonance; however, the way it devolved into a pure carriage-filled action franchise showcased how viewers missed the point.
8 Manhunter (1986)
Audiences did not appreciate Michael Mann’s stylistic choices
Although Anthony Hopkins’s portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs may be cinema’s most acclaimed version of the character, he was first played on screen by Brian Cox in Michael Mann’s Manhunter. As an adaptation of the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, this box office disappointment was misunderstood by audiences when it was first released but has since become a cult classic. With one of the best synth movie scores of the 1980s, Manhunter was far more than a typical crime thriller and was categorized by pure style and atmosphere.
Mann used color to give Manhunter a tinted aesthetic that evoked mood and tone throughout. While contemporary viewers were turned off by Manhunter’s more artsy style, looking back on it today, this made it stand out among a litany of forgettable and lackluster crime thrillers during the 1980s. Despite not being appreciated in its own time, Manhunter’s focus on mood and tone notably influenced later thrillers such as Se7en.
7 RoboCop (1987)
Audiences missed out on the satirical depth of RoboCop
At first glance, RoboCop appeared to be an over-the-top action movie that owed much of its inspiration to The Terminator. This was how the movie was received by many viewers when it was released in 1987, when it became a box office hit and the starting point for an entirely new franchise. However, with complex themes about the nature of humanity, personal identity, corporate greed, and corruption, RoboCop’s message was actually far deeper than the average sci-fi action movie.
With a central theme around the power of corporations, RoboCop was a thought-provoking satire of Reaganomics that spoofed right-wing fear around drugs and crime. With religious imagery that brought to mind the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, it’s only in the internet era of widespread online debate that the deeply complex subtext of RoboCop has become a mainstream talking point among viewers. As movie fans can come together for online discussion around films such as RoboCop, its thematically dense, satirical narrative has become common knowledge in a way it wasn’t during the 1980s.
6 Scarface (1983)
Audiences who idolized Tony Montana missed the point
Scarface was truly one of Al Pacino’s definitive movies, whose iconography and quotations have been a touchstone of popular culture. As Tony Montana, Pacino embodied a level of violent excess that showcased the ruthless and outrageous nature of gangsters and powerfully updated the original 1932 Howard Hawks movie for a new generation. However, Tony Montana has since become an icon of hip-hop culture, and viewers who saw Scarface as an idolization of criminal behavior entirely missed the point.
The violent excess seen in Scarface, such as the “say hello to my little friend” shootout and the outrageous mountains of cocaine on display, highlighted the hollow nature of materialism. While some audiences may have looked to Tony as a symbol of criminal success, his troubling story was, in fact, a critique of the emptiness of the American dream. While Tony turned himself from a penniless immigrant into a drug kingpin, it was at the expense of finding true meaning in life.
5 The Thing (1982)
Audiences failed to appreciate The Thing, and it has since been reappraised
As a movie that commonly ranks among the greatest horror movies ever made, it’s shocking just how dismissive audiences were of The Thing back when it was released. Although John Carpenter’s thrilling masterpiece of paranoia and the breakdown of trust has endured throughout the decades, The Thing underperformed at the box office as viewers favored the more optimistic alien movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. While the special effects gained praise, its storyline, and the unique atmosphere were woefully underappreciated.
However, The Things’ reputation has only grown in the years since its release, and it’s now considered perhaps Carpenter’s greatest movie. The retrospective reassessment means it’s now a timeless classic and a must-watch movie for horror lovers of all descriptions. The way The Thing melded Lovecraftian horror with Cold War anxieties of mutually assured destruction was overlooked at the time but has since had a major effect on popular culture and influenced everything from The Hateful Eight to Stranger Things.
4 Heathers (1989)
Audiences were not used to Heather’s cynical inversion of teen movie tropes
Heathers contrasted the optimism of John Hughes-style teen movies, such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, with a dark sense of cynicism that better represented the trials and tribulations of Reagan’s America. While this was a deeply clever high school satire, Heathers failed to find an audience and bombed at the box office. The idea of a dark teen movie that unpacked the real horrors of bullying and teen suicide was so ahead of its time that audiences missed the point.
In hindsight, Heathers was a hugely influential film that only became more relevant as the years went on. While contemporary viewers took the film’s extreme scenarios and irreverent tone at face value, looking back, this was a clever social commentary on serious issues. Heathers has since become a cult classic coming-of-age movie that’s been adapted as a musical and with a television reboot.
3 Blue Velvet (1986)
Audiences were alienated by David Lynch’s surreal filmmaking style
The surrealist auteur David Lynch has always forged his own path, whether critics or audiences understood his work or not. This was the case for his iconic debut Eraserhead and has remained so right up to recent works like Twin Peaks: The Return, excluding one notable example where he was not provided with a final cut for his adaptation of Dune. As both an artistic and financial failure, Lynch vowed never to make the same mistake again and delved even further into his uncompromising and often alienating style with his follow-up feature, Blue Velvet.
This was a hugely misunderstood film at the time of its release, as Lynch had yet to become widely known for his surreal and dreamlike aesthetics that peeled back the sinister curtain of suburbia. Blue Velvet was thought to be a bizarre and pointlessly sexualized film when it was first released, which ignored its insightful commentary on society’s buried violence and desire. Although Blue Velvet has since gained a cult following, during the 1980s, it was just too out there for mainstream audiences.
2 The King Of Comedy (1982)
Audiences failed to enjoy the satirical nature of The King of Comedy
With The King of Comedy, director Martin Scorsese delivered one of the greatest movies of the 1980s, but sadly, audiences were not interested in this insightful satirical look at celebrity worship and obsession. As a box office flop, this story of a wannabe comedian kidnapping his idol had all the hallmarks of Scorsese’s best work, as its dark character study brought to mind the sinister undertones of previous Scorsese movies like Taxi Driver. The King of Comedy was completely misunderstood when it was released, but its dark satire has only become more relevant in the years since.
Robert De Niro gave one of his greatest performances as Rupert Pupkin, a stand-up comedian with mental health issues, who so perfectly walked the fine line between comedy and drama that it alienated viewers. The cringe-inducing and awkward nature of its narrative was just too ahead of its time for the 1980s but has since had a major influence on later movies. Joker’s box office smash success, which powerfully paid homage to The King of Comedy throughout, was a prime example of its enduring legacy.
1 Do The Right Thing (1989)
Audiences protested Do the Right Thing, missing its anti-violence message
The fact that Driving Miss Daisy took home the Academy Award for Best Picture over Do the Right Thing perfectly encapsulated how misunderstood this classic film was by contemporary audiences. As an insightful crime-drama by Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing addressed racial issues in a timely and urgent way, and, when contrasted with Driving Miss Daisy, it was clearly a much more pressing and powerful film. However, those who criticized Do the Right Things’ depiction of violence failed to understand the deeper meaning at the heart of the film.
Do the Right Thing depicted simmering racial tensions between a neighborhood’s African-American residents and the Italian-Americans on one hot summer day. Upon release, some protested the film and stated that it could incite riots (via Rolling Stone), despite an anti-violent message being the entire point of the movie. Lee himself commented on the way certain audiences missed the point, calling the protests “outrageous, egregious” and “racist.”
Source: Rolling Stone
